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New Look Vision Group Inc. Announces Record Third Quarter Results for the Period Ended September 24, 2016 and Its Quarterly Dividend

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Nov. 4, 2016) - New Look Vision Group Inc. (TSX:BCI) ("New Look Vision"), announced today its financial results for the third quarter ended September 24, 2016 and its quarterly dividend.

Third quarter results

New Look Vision reported record revenues of $49.0 million and adjusted EBITDA(1) of $8.0 million for the third quarter ended September 24, 2016, representing increases of 18.3% and 12.5% respectively over last year. The increases were mainly due to the net addition of 20 stores in the last twelve months as well as same store sales growth of 9.1% over last year.

Net earnings attributed to shareholders for the third quarter were $2.1 million (or $0.15 per share(2)) compared to a loss of ($0.6) million last year (or ($0.05) per share), the increase being due to lower financial expenses and lower income tax expense, in addition to the strong sales and operating performance. Adjusted net earnings attributed to shareholders(1) for the third quarter, that is net earnings adjusted to remove the impact of acquisition-related costs were $0.16(2) per share compared to $0.16 for last year.

Cash flow from operating activities before income taxes paid and changes in working capital items was $7.7 million or $0.56 per share(2) in the third quarter of 2016 compared to $6.8 million or $0.50 per share last year. Income tax instalments paid in the third quarter of 2016 were $1.4 million compared to $1.1 million for 2015.

Year-to-date results

Year-to-date revenues and adjusted EBITDA reached a record $144.0 million and $25.6 million respectively, which represent increases of 10.9% and 7.3% respectively over last year. Net earnings attributed to shareholders were $8.0 million ($0.58 per share)(2) compared to $5.4 million last year ($0.39 per share). Net earnings adjusted to remove the impact of acquisition-related costs were $8.8 million, or $0.30 million over last year. Adjusted net earnings per share (2) increased to $0.63 from $0.62 last year, despite additional depreciation and amortization and additional shares issued over the last four quarters. Same store sales year-to-date were up 4.0% over last year.

Cash flow from operating activities before income taxes paid and changes in working capital was $24.2 million or $1.75 per share in the year-to-date period compared to $23.1 million or $1.68 per share last year. In the first nine months of 2016, New Look Vision made total tax payments of $5.6 million compared to $2.4 million last year, including prior period adjustments and current year instalments.

More detail on the financial performance of the third quarter and the year-to-date period ended September 24, 2016 is available in the attachments.

President's comments

Antoine Amiel, the President of New Look Vision, stated that: "Propelled by a strong comparable store sales performance, as well as by the ongoing integration of recently acquired locations, in Q3 the Company achieved a very positive financial and operating performance with revenues and profitability hitting record levels for this reporting period. We also continue to aggressively monitor acquisition opportunities arising from the ongoing consolidation of the Canadian retail optical industry and, subsequent to quarter end, announced that the company had entered into an agreement to acquire a local chain in British Columbia, Canada's third largest market. This follows the February 9, 2016 acquisition of a chain of 15 stores in Southwestern Ontario, operating under the iVision banner."

Dividend approval

Following the approval of the results of the third quarter of 2016 and taking into account the solid cash inflows from operations in the quarter, the Board of Directors of New Look Vision approved the payment of a dividend of $0.15 per Class A common shares payable on December 31, 2016 to the shareholders of record as of December 22, 2016. The dividend has been designated as an "eligible dividend", that is a dividend entitling shareholders who are Canadian resident individuals to a higher dividend tax credit.

Through the dividend reinvestment plan, shareholders residing in Canada may elect to re-invest their cash dividends into New Look Vision shares, without incurring brokerage commissions, fees and transaction costs. Until any further announcement, shares will be issued from treasury at 95% of the weighted average trading price for the five days preceding the dividend payment date. Any shareholder wishing to benefit from this opportunity may do so through his or her broker.

Attachments

Table A - Highlights

Table B - Consolidated Statement of Earnings

Table C - Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Adjusted EBITDA

Table D - Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Adjusted Net Earnings

Table E - Reconciliation of Cash Flows from Operating Activities, Before Income Taxes Paid and Changes in Working Capital Items

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net earnings and Cash flows from operating activities before income taxes paid and changes in working capital items are not recognized measures under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities. See Table C and Table D attached for a reconciliation of net earnings to these measures. See Table E for reconciliation of cash flows.

Per share amounts are expressed on a diluted basis.

As of September 30, 2016, New Look Vision had 13,564,878 Class A common shares issued and outstanding. New Look Vision is a leader in the eye care industry in Eastern Canada having a network of 212 corporate stores mainly under the New Look Eyewear, Vogue Optical and Greiche & Scaff banners and laboratory facilities using state-of-the-art technologies. Tax information regarding payments to shareholders is available at www.newlookvision.ca in the Investors section.

All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future financial position, business strategy, projected costs and plans and objectives of, or involving New Look Vision. Readers can identify many of these statements by looking for words such as "believe", "expects", "will", "intends", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "plans", "may", "would" or similar words or the negative thereof. There can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which these forward-looking statements are based will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although management of New Look Vision believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Some of the factors which could affect future results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained herein include: pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments, competition from established competitors and new market entrants, technological change, interest rate fluctuations, general economic conditions, acceptance and demand for new products and services, and fluctuations in operating results, as well as other risks included in New Look Vision's current Annual Information Form (AIF) which can be found at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and New Look Vision undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as provided by law.

for the third quarters and 39-week periods ended September 24, 2016 and September 26, 2015

In thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts

13 weeks

39 weeks

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

Revenues

$48,951

$41,379

$144,047

$129,941

Variance

18.3

%

10.9

%

Variance in comparable store sales orders(a)

9.1

%

4

%

Adjusted EBITDA(b)

$7,965

$7,079

$25,607

$23,861

Variance

12.5

%

7.3

%

% of revenues

16.3

%

17.1

%

17.8

%

18.4

%

Per share (diluted)

$0.58

$0.51

$1.85

$1.73

Variance

13.7

%

6.9

%

Net earnings (loss) attributed to shareholders

$2,053

$(641

)

$7,986

$5,402

Variance

420.3

%

47.8

%

Net earnings (loss) per share

Basic

$0.15

($0.05

)

$0.59

$0.40

Diluted

$0.15

($0.05

)

$0.58

$0.39

Variance

400.0

%

48.7

%

Adjusted net earnings attributed to shareholders(b)

$2,225

$2,178

$8,772

$8,473

Variance

2.2

%

3.5

%

Per share (diluted)

$0.16

$0.16

$0.63

$0.62

Variance

-

%

1.6

%

Cash flows from operating activities, before income taxes paid and changes in working capital items(b)

$7,688

$6,831

$24,192

$23,111

Per share (diluted)

$0.56

$0.50

$1.75

$1.68

Variance

12.0

%

4.2

%

Capital expenditures(c)

$3,458

$1,945

$30,028

$5,659

Net debt increase (decrease) in the period(d)

$183

($2,339

)

$20,282

($9,789

)

Cash dividend per share(e)

$0.15

$0.15

$0.45

$0.45

Total dividends(e)

$2,016

$2,011

$6,092

$6,023

At end of period

Number of stores(f)

212

192

Comparable stores are stores which have been operating for at least 12 months. Revenues are recognized at time of delivery of goods to customers, but management measures the comparable store performance on the basis of sales orders, regardless of delivery.

EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings and cash flows from operating activities before income taxes paid and changes in working capital items are not recognized measures under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities. Refer to Table C and Table D for a reconciliation of these measures to net earnings. Also, refer to Table E for reconciliation of cash flows.

EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are not recognized measures under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities. New Look Vision believes that EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are useful financial metrics as they assist in determining the ability to generate cash from operations. Investors should be cautioned that EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings or cash flows as determined under IFRS.

TABLE D

NEW LOOK VISION GROUP INC.

Reconciliation of Net Earnings (Loss) to Adjusted Net Earnings

for the third quarters and the 39-week periods ended September 24, 2016 and September 26, 2015

In thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts

13 weeks

39 weeks

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

$

$

$

$

Net earnings (loss) attributed to shareholders

2,053

(641

)

7,986

5,402

Net expenses related to an income tax settlement

2,768

2,768

Acquisition-related costs

235

70

1,075

415

Related income taxes

(63

)

(19

)

(289

)

(112

)

Adjusted net earnings attributed to shareholders(a)

2,225

2,178

8,772

8,473

Variance in $

47

299

Variance in %

2.2

%

3.5

%

% of revenues

4.5

%

5.3

%

6.1

%

6.5

%

Per share amount

Diluted

0.16

0.16

0.63

0.62

Adjusted net earnings are not a recognized measure under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities. New Look Vision believes that this disclosure provides useful information as it allows the comparison of net results excluding acquisition and development costs, which may vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Investors should be cautioned that adjusted net earnings should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings as determined under IFRS.

TABLE E

NEW LOOK VISION GROUP INC.

Reconciliation of Cash Flows from Operating Activities, Before Income Taxes Paid and Changes in Working Capital Items to Cash Flows from Operating Activities

for the third quarters and the 39-week periods ended September 24, 2016 and September 26, 2015

In thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts

13 weeks

39 weeks

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

Sept. 24, 2016

Sept. 26, 2015

$

$

$

$

Earnings before income taxes

3,242

2,760

12,053

11,227

Adjustments:

Depreciation, amortization and loss on disposal

2,898

2,823

8,570

8,251

Amortization of deferred lease inducements and variation of deferred rent

(90

)

(101

)

(320

)

(312

)

Equity-based compensation expense

607

102

916

449

Other

1

(15

)

13

(4

)

Financial expenses

1,039

1,270

2,988

3,544

Interest revenue

(9

)

(8

)

(28

)

(44

)

Cash flows from operating activities, before income taxes paid and changes in working capital items

7,688

6,831

24,192

23,111

Income taxes paid

(1,381

)

(1,146

)

(5,621

)

(2,384

)

Cash flows from operating activities, before changes in working capital items